Iona Basketball

Iona head coach Tim Cluess high-fived his two captains—senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones and junior guard Sean Armand—as they left their postgame press conference following their 78-71 win over Rider on Saturday night.

“You have two days off,” Cluess said with a chuckle.

Armand and Jones looked back at him, and Jones said, “You know I’m always in the gym.”

That’s the workman’s mentality and dedication that Cluess has been trying to instill in his team all season long.

Just two nights ago, Cluess called out his Iona squad, saying, “Some don’t care,” after their loss to Marist, which extended the Gael’s losing streak to three games.

So it was no surprise Cluess revolved his game plan around his two passionate leaders, who combined for 56 of Iona’s 78 points (32 for Jones and 24 for Armand).

“In a game like this, when your team is struggling and a lot of guys questioning what they’re doing, and you have two players that can take the pressure off the rest of the guys and say these guys are going to carry us tonight that allows them to get the feel back and just play hard,” Cluess said. “And hopefully we’ll feel a little bit more relaxed knowing Momo and Sean are back.”

Coming into Saturday night’s matchup, Rider was the No. 1 defense in the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference against the three. Armand went 4-6 from behind the arc.

Rider was also had the No. 2 field-goal percentage defense. Jones went 10 of 19 from the field.

When Jones was asked about Rider’s defense, he shrugged his shoulders, smirked and said, “I scored 32.”

The Jones and Armand show started early. The NCAA’s highest-scoring duo combined to create an eight-point run, which gave Iona an early 16-11 lead with 13:39 left to play in the first half.

From that point on, the two teams, who were tied for third in the MAAC, exchanged points. The biggest lead all night was an eight-point Iona advantage with 4:01 left to play in the first half.

Rider erased a seven-point halftime deficit and tied the game at 42 with a 9-2 run. The Broncs’ scoring was led by senior guard Jonathon Thompson, who finished with a season-high 26 points, and junior guard Anthony Myles, who finished with 19 points.

Jones scored five unanswered points to break a 55-55 tie with nine minutes left to play in the game, and Iona held on to the lead the rest of the way.

“Tonight we came out and played with energy from start to finish,” Jones said. “And we showed we wanted this win.”

With 3:34 left to play in the game, Armand made a milestone layup, becoming the 34th  player in Iona’s history to reach 1,000 career points.

“It feels good to do it on my home court, and after we get a win, which is more important,” Armand said. “It’s an honor to be part of that club.”

Iona’s win was also a direct result of better foul shooting. After missing critical free throws in the double-overtime loss to Marist, Iona returned to form against Rider.

The No. 6 free-throw shooting team in the nation (76.4 percent) drained 21 of their 26 foul shots. Jones led with 11, adding to his nation-leading 162 converted free throws.

Iona’s next game will be at Manhattan on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. 

All quotes and information were obtained firsthand.

Iona’s senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones knocked down what looked like a three from the top of the key with five seconds remaining in the second overtime of Thursday’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference match up against Marist.

That would’ve tied the game at 105.

But the referees reviewed the play and determined Jones’ feet were inside the three-point line, which made the shot a two-point play. That inch cost the Gaels, as they ultimately lost 105-104 to Marist—a team that has only one win since Dec. 19.

Iona was three seconds away from winning the game in the first overtime after junior guard Tre Bowman hit a foul shot with three seconds remaining.

That’s when the Red Fox’s sophomore guard and leading scorer Chavaughn Lewis received the inbound pass, dribbled to the left and heaved a half-court shot with one second left to tie the game at 94, which forced the second overtime. Lewis also made back-to-back shots to give Marist a 105-102 lead in the second overtime before Jones’ shot.

This loss extends the Gaels’ losing streak to three.

“We’ve been finding ways to lose, but this was a new way to lose tonight,” Iona Head Coach Tim Cluess said. “The kid hits a prayer and sends it to overtime and a bounce here and a bounce there and missed foul shots again and unfortunately it cost us the game.”

Iona had chances to win the game during regulation but missed free throws down the stretch hurt the Gaels. Coming into Thursday night’s game Iona was shooting 76.7 percent from the line, which is on pace to break a 26-year-old school record. But they couldn’t make a shot when they needed one the most.

Down 82-80 with 1:33 left to play, junior guard and No. 3 scorer in the MAAC Sean Armand, who’s one of the best sharpshooters in the conference, went to the free-throw line with three shots. He made only one.

About thirty seconds later, the MAAC’s leading scorer, Jones, went to the line for two shots. He made only one.

Then Bowman missed one of his two foul shots at the end of the first overtime, which would have put Iona up by four. Instead his miss opened the door for Lewis’s game-tying, half-court heave.

Jones, who didn’t start the game because of a lingering knee injury, still finished with a game-high 37 points in 45 minutes. Armand was second in points with 18. There were three Gaels with double digit rebounds—sophomore forward David Laury III (13), senior forward Taaj Ridley (12) and junior guard Sean Armand (11).

Iona’s defense continued to struggle. When Cluess was asked about the defensive shortcomings, he said there’s a lack of quickness and trust.

“We aren’t as quick as the other guys we’re playing against. The teams we’re playing against have better offensive players that get by our guys that are a half a step slow,” Cluess said. “And right now that trust factor…is something you have to build over time each other, and you have to trust each other and we haven’t built that yet among our guys.”

Marist’s junior center Adam Kemp used his 6'10", 235 pound frame to dominate the boards. He came up three blocks short of a triple double. He finished with a team-high 29 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. Two other Marist players—junior forward Jay Bowie and Lewis—each had 21 points.

The first thing Jones said after the game was, “I HATE losing.” He emphasized the “hate,” then he repeated his opening statement.

“I’m not used to losing since being here, so every loss gets me mad,” Armand added.

But Cluess said that feeling of anger is missing from the rest of the locker room.

“They’re feeling sorry for themselves right now, and you’re not going to be any good when you feel sorry for yourself. I would’ve loved to have had to go into the locker room and have to separate guys ‘cause they’re mad…The guys that were here last year are taking it very, very hard and are really upset. But the new guys don’t know what to do…Some care a lot, some don’t care at all and some are still trying to figure it out.”

Iona’s next game will be at home against Rider on Saturday at 7 p.m.

All quotes and information were obtained firsthand. 

Iona College’s offensive firepower was on display Friday night at the Hynes Center, as the Gaels knocked off Fairfield University 84-73 to remain tied with Niagara for the best in-conference record (6-1) in the MAAC. However, the Gaels' 12-6 overall record is better than Niagara's (10-8).

Fairfield shut down the nation’s fifth-leading scorer, Iona senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones, in the first half, holding him to five points.

“They took Momo out of the game early in the first half,” said Iona head coach Tim Cluess. “They were denying him and doubling him every opportunity they had, just trying to deny him touches.”

Unfortunately for Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson, the Iona offense is led by one of the most prolific NCAA Division I scoring duos. And the second half of that tandem, junior guard Sean Armand, carried the Gaels through the first half with 15 points, the only player on either team to be in double digits at the half.

Iona hurt itself early, missing six of its first eight free throws, which allowed Fairfield to maintain a slim lead. But Armand’s three with 6:41 left in the first half tied the game at 24, which was followed by junior guard DaShawn Gomez’s three, giving Iona a 27-24 advantage.

The first half ended with a 41-30 Iona lead.

But Fairfield came out scoring in the second half, opening with a 9-1 run. The Stags got as close as three, 53-50, when Gomez and Jones hit back-to-back threes.

The remaining 12 minutes of the game belonged to Jones, who scored 16 of his 22 second-half points down the stretch to preserve the Gaels’ win.

But one glaring weakness for Iona was its defense, or lack thereof.

“We showed we could score, but we got to play defense for a whole game,” Armand said.

They gave up 26 points to Fairfield’s senior forward and leading scorer Derek Needham, and 12 points apiece to freshman guard Marcus Gilbert and junior forward Maurice Barrow.

When asked why the defense was struggling, Armand replied, “It's effort and lack of focus. We have to key in on defense. The same way we have fun on offense, we have to have fun on defense. We have to have a will to want to play defense, and I don’t think we have that will as a whole.”

Iona won despite being without senior forward Taaj Ridley, who didn’t play because he was in violation of team academic policies. Ridley was riding a hot streak, averaging 9.3 points per game and 6.1 rebounds over his last seven games.

Sophomore forward David Laury III played 33 minutes in his absence. He struggled offensively, shooting 2-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-11 from the line, but his 14 rebounds were more than double the amount of the second-leading rebounder (English, with six).

Cluess said Ridley's return date is not known at this time.

But the Gaels need him back soon. They will be on the road for four of the next five games, and Cluess said this will be a big test for this Iona team.

“Road games in this league are wars, home games are wars, so imagine what it’s like on the road. But we will find out a lot about ourselves by the time we come back from that,” Cluess said.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

The Iona Gaels (11-6, 5-1) made 16 three-point shots and used a small, but quick lineup to win their 11th game of the year 97-87 over Canisius Golden Griffins (10-7, 3-3). 

Junior Sean Armand led the Gaels with 32 points, his highest offensive point total of the year.
The forward from Brooklyn made nine of 15 three-point shots including six of seven made in the second half helping Iona pull ahead.

Iona had 37 points off the bench, led by the 28 contributed by guard Tre Bowman who made eight of thirteen shots and added six rebounds.  The junior from York, PA had his best outing as a Gael since transferring from Midland College in Texas where he played last year.

Also in double figures for Iona was forward David Lawry with 13 points in 26 minutes while freshman A.J. English came off the bench to score 10 on four of seven shooting including two three pointers.  The 6'8" Lawry continued to show good hands rebounding since becoming eligible to join the Gael's lineup after the end of the fall semester.  English has shown he can come into games and provide instant offense for the Gaels.

Leading Canisius with 26 points was Harold Robinson who made eight of of fourteen shots including three three-pointers.  The Griffs showed a strong inside presence provided by 6'10'', 240-pound Jordan Heath who had 13 points and 6'6'' 235-pound Chris Manhertz who had seven points, but dominated the boards with 14 rebounds. 

Junior guard Billy Baron had a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists on the afternoon for Canisius.  Baron is the son of Canisius head coach Jim Baron who coached at Rhode Island the past twelve seasons before moving to Buffalo to coach the Griffins this year.  As a college player in 1977 Baron led St. Bonaventure to the NIT title. The younger Baron played for his Dad two seasons in Kingston, where he averaged 13 points a game last season. 

The first half of this contest was run and gun with Iona trying to force a fast tempo against the size in the Canisius lineup provided by Heath and Manhertz.  Sean Armand gave Iona a 22-16 lead at 11:08 left hitting three three-pointers and a two point field goal for 11 points in just two minutes and twenty seconds time. 

Hot shooting by Washington who had 15 first half points and Baron who provided a spark-plug with seven assists gave Canisius a seven point lead with 5:34 left.  Iona answered with offense provided by Tre Bowman, who came off the bench to provide 12 points before the intermission.  At the half, Canisius led by two, 49-47.

The second half opened fast with Sean Armand hitting two early threes to give Iona a six point lead 55-49.  Canisius came back to take the lead 58-57 with a three point play by Manhertz and free throws made by Jordan Heath and Washington. 

After Armand made another three, Iona guard Lamont "Momo" Jones picked up his fourth foul and was replaced in the lineup by junior DaShawn Gomez who played last season at Antelope Valley College in California.   A moment earlier, English had come in for starter Tavon Sledge who was having an unproductive day. 

Iona went with starters Lawry and Armand joined by English and Gomez and Bowman off the bench,  a very small lineup.  It worked.  Gomez looked sure handed at the point for Iona providing five assists against one turnover in 17 minutes.  Iona went on an 11-2 run to lead 74-63 with 10:55 remaining.  Iona pushed the lead to 16 points at 84-68 on yet another three by Armand and a lay-up by English with 6:44 left.

The Gaels then worked to hold the lead which they have struggled with in the past. Baron hit back to back threes to get Canisius within eight at 93-85 with 2:02 left, but the Gaels guards worked the clock to hold on to the win.

Afterwards Iona coach Tim Cluess said about what amounted to a four guard offense in the second half, "We play better with our small line-up".

This was Iona's fifth win in a row, the last four in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference competition.  The Gaels are tied for first place with Niagara both at 5-1 in the MAAC so far.  Iona defeated Niagara 83-72 back on November 28 and the two play again in western New York on January 31st.

Also in the MAAC Sunday:

Niagara (9-8) won 67-64 at Fairfield (10-8)

Rider (9-9) won 64-57 over Loyola (12-6)  in NJ

Siena (4-13) won 66-53 over Saint Peter's (6-10) in Albany

Manhattan (5-11) won 65-53 defeating Marist (4-13)  in Riverdale

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY.

Iona (7-6) earned its ticket to the NCAA last season by winning December games on the road. This season, the Gaels have won at Georgia (5-7) and finished off 2012 with a New Year's Eve 93-74 win at St. Bonaventure (7-5).

Iona's junior forward Sean Armand had another big three-point shooting day shooting 7-14 from behind the arc and finishing with 27 points. Senior guard Lamont "Momo" Jones had a strong shooting game---7-11 from the field and 3-5 on three-pointers---finishing with 23 points and 5 assists.

Senior forward Taaj Ridley has picked up his game noticeably this season playing 38 minutes against the Bonnies, scoring 13 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Ridley also had 4 assists and 1 block. Last season Ridley was a starter, but saw limited minutes because of ineffective play. This season he is playing like a leader with new maturity.

Iona's new center-forward---sophomore David Laury---was limited to 27 minutes and 13 points because he picked up his fourth foul with 5:09 left in the second half. He left the contest with the Gaels leading 81-64. Laury is from East Orange, NJ and played last season at Lamar State. The 6'8" 240 pounder joined the Gaels lineup after his transfer become eligible at the end of the first semester. So far he has shown good hands at rebounding, physical play under the basket and a scoring touch inside.

The Gaels jumped ahead 22-15 on a seven-point-run thanks to consecutive jumpers by Armand, followed by a pair of free throws made by Jones. Iona extended their lead to 12 points at 34-22 on a move to the basket by sophomore guard Tavon Sledge with 4:08 left in the first half. St. Bonaventure senior forward Demitrius Conger made a three-pointer in the last minute to make the score at the half 40-31 Iona.

A jumper by the St. Bonaventure junior forward Marquise Simmons made it a two-point game less than three minutes into the second half. Another three-pointer by Armand sparked a 20-7 Iona run to give the Gaels a 62-42 lead with 11:45 left to play in regulation. Another three-pointer by Armand at 7:37 gave Iona a 20 point lead at 78-58.

Sledge, the former Iowa State freshman who has looked good handling the ball so far this season, had just 6 points on 3-7 shooting from the field in 28 minutes.

Another bright spot for the Gaels---as they reach the start of the regular conference schedule---has been the play of true freshman guard A.J. English who shot 3-4 on three-pointers finishing with 11 points and 2 assists in 17 minutes.

Demitrius Conger led the Bonnies with eight rebounds and 26 points. Guard Charlon Kloof had 8 assists and 7 points.

Iona finishes up its three-game road trip at Siena College (2-11) in Albany, NY Friday night with a 7:00 p.m. EST start to be broadcast nationally on ESPN3.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football. 

The Iona Gaels (5-5) split games this week winning at home against Liberty 87-69 then traveling to Philadelphia and losing 88-74 to La Salle despite 21 points and 14 rebound debut performance from sophomore forward David Laury.

Against Liberty on Tuesday night in the Hynes Center, the Gaels set a school record taking 41 three-point shots and tying a record by making 18 of them.  Sean Armand had a productive game for the Gaels with seven "Threes" completed of 14 attempts, 23 points and nine rebounds on the night.  Lamont "Momo" Jones led in total points with 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and made five passes for assists. 

New comer for Iona Tre Bowman had 13 points and true freshman A.J. English had 17 points.  Bowman played 16 games for Penn State before playing last year at Midland College in Texas.  English is the son of former NBA player AJ English II, who played for the Washington Bullets in the early 90s.  The 6'4" small forward has found a comfortable spot in the corner to make his shots, making five of his eight three-point attempts.

The Gaels struggled on three point shots against La Salle, making only five of 23 attempts.  Only three Gaels had double figures in scoring as "Momo" Jones had 19 points and Sean Armand had 15. 

Iona was weak in play, making just 11 assists on the night and being forced into 16 turnovers.

In his first game as a Gael, David Laury contributes a double-double with 14 rebounds and 21 points.  The former 6' 8" Lamar State junior college forward player shot 8 of 13 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Laury came off the bench to play 26 minutes, showing that his conditioning could be better than the coaching staff might have thought for a team that plays fast break basketball.

To make playing time available for Laury, the pairing at the five spot so far in the season between junior 6'9" Shawn Jackson and 6'7" senior Taaj Ridley was reduced to seven minutes for Jackson and nine for Ridley.  Iona may try a bigger lineup at times, playing both Laurie and either of the other two Gael "bigs".

Sunday afternoon will be the first time for Iona fans to see David Laury in action at the Hynes Center against Norfolk State (6-7).  Game time against on North Avenue in New Rochelle will be 2 p.m.

This should be an important opportunity for Iona to work Laurie into the lineup before heading on the road for three straight road games at Saint Joseph's Friday in Philadelphia, at Saint Bonaventure on New Year's eve, then in Albany against Siena, an ESPN3 game on January 4th. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for Sons of the American Legion Radio. Twitter @SAL50NYRadio

Not often a mid-major team goes into a South East Conference site like Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia and comes out with a road win, but Saturday night the Iona Gaels (4-4) from New Rochelle, NY defeated the Georgia Bulldogs (2-7) 81-78 in overtime.  

This was Iona's first win over an SEC team in 11 games over 27 years, although the Gaels defeated Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier this year at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands.  Iona head coach Tim Cluess said afterward:

We fought, and fought and found a way. This is a program win for us when you come into a place like this with the history Georgia has and get a win on the road, it is just phenomenal for us.

Lamont "Momo" Jones came out of the hospital to score 25 points after suffering the prior week with a stomach illness.  The senior point guard added six assists to the Iona offense after missing practise time, according to associate head coach Jared Grasso, who commented:

"Momo" was fantastic. He missed three days of practice, was in the hospital, had some stomach problems, came back yesterday, barely practised, he is a "Gamer",  down the stretch he made the plays to win it for us.

Junior forward Sean Armand scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Gaels.  Freshman A.J. English had a breakout game, scoring 17 for Iona. Afterwards Armand, a terrific three-point shooter, who makes an average of 45 percent of them, said:

We were very vocal on the court, my team mates helped me out, trying to be confident on free throws, no one was going to steal a win from our team, we played a full game tonight and came through with a tough W.

Iona went out to a 10-point early lead at 18-8 as English made two three-point shots and Tavon Sledge added a three as well.  The Bulldogs came back and led by one at the half, 36-35.

In the second half, Georgia led by seven at 48-41 with 13:09 left, but the Gaels came back with a 15-2 run initiated by back-to-back jumpers made by Jones, a three-point shot by Armand, layup by forward Sean Jackson and capped by a three by Jones. The Gaels led 56-51 with 9:23 left.

Down the stretch Georgia went on a run of its own, outscoring Iona 11- 3 to take a 66-63 lead with 2:39 left.  Armand made a clutch three-point shot with 54 seconds left and the Bulldogs missed four shots in the closing seconds to allow the game to go to overtime.

The Gaels went into overtime without one forward, Sean Jackson, who fouled out. With 1:38 left and the game tied 73, the last remaining forward in the Iona rotation, Taaj Ridley, fouled out.  Infrequently used "Digs" Moikobu went in to give Iona some size under the offensive boards. 

With 19 seconds left Iona senior Curtis Denis hit a three-point shot to gave Iona a two-point lead at 78-76.  Donte Williams of Georgia made a free throw, then Jones made a free throw but missed the second for Iona.  Gaels led 79-77 with seven seconds left.

Georgia's Nemanja Djurisic is fouled and made the first of two free throws but misses the second which would have tied the game. Iona leads by one 78-77.

Sean Armand was fouled and made both shots, and the Gaels won 81-78, a huge upset road win against a power conference team.

For Georgia, two players had double-doubles; Ken Caldwell-Pope had 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Donte Williams also had 10 rebounds and added 16 points.  Georgia out rebounded the Gaels 48-26 on the night. Charles Mann came off the bench to score 18 points for the Bulldogs.

Iona won despite being outscored in the paint 42-22 and the Georgia bench contributing 28 points compared to Iona's seven.  Georgia missed nine of 15 free throws in overtime.

Afterward, Jared Grasso commented on the hard work the Gaels did to overcome close losses earlier in the season had been paid off with this big road win:

Guys stepped up on both ends of the floor, A.J. English was huge, "Momo" Jones, Sean Armand...for us to go on the road to an SEC team is a huge win for our program.  People see Iona beats Wake Forest, Iona beats Georgia, a signature win for our program.

Iona will now have five games before the end of the year starting with Liberty at home Tuesday night and a trip to LaSalle of the Atlantic 10 in Philadelphia on Thursday.  The Gaels will have a home game next Sunday against Norfolk before two more A-10 road games at Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure to finish out 2012.

Postgame comments courtesy of Iona Athletics. 

Ken Kraetzer covers West Point football and Iona basketball for WVOX in New Rochelle, NY.

Iona College (3-2) defeated Niagara (2-4) 83-72 at the Hynes Center in New Rochelle, N.Y., Wednesday night in the opening game of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.

Junior forward Sean Armand led the Gaels with18 points and 11 rebounds.  Senior forward Curtis Dennis,  a transfer from Toledo, had a breakout game with 17 points, including five three-point shots for the Gaels. 

Point guard Lamont "Momo" Jones, who went into the game as the No. 2 scorer in the NCAA with 25.8 points per game, struggled through playing on a sore ankle and finished with 12 points.

The Gaels had five players in double figures scoring with 2 guard Tavon Sledge and forward Tre Bowman also adding12 points apiece.  Sledge demonstrated strong ball-handling skills in the game often sharing the point duties with Jones and grabbing six rebounds.

For Niagara, Antoine Mason led with 24 points and Marvin Jordan had 14. 

The Gaels sport a reloaded lineup this season, with nine new players, several of whom are transfers with experience at major Division I programs. Jones commented about the chemistry on the team built around only three returning players:

We have a group of guys who really get along well on and off the court, we hang out together, we trust each other.  It is just getting everyone to learn the things, and get confident in the things we do.

In the first half, Iona appeared to split the point guard duties between senior Jones and Tavon Sledge the sophomore from long Island who transferred in after starting his college career at Iowa State, the Gaels went out to a 43-31 lead.  The two seem to work well together, especially with Jones slowed slightly by an ankle injury.

Now in his second year at Iona after transferring from Arizona, Jones was the point guard on the Wildcats' Elite Eight team.  The native of Harlem has worked to become a strong scoring player evidenced by a 40 point game at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands against Quinnipiac.

Sledge looks like a solid Division 1 player, he handles the ball well and can rebound.  He looks like one of those players with great hands, if the ball is loose nearby he gets it.  At times when Sledge was given the ball playing the point, Jones had the opportunity to move around the court looking for open spots to take a pass and shoot.  Jones and Sledge playing together in the backcourt look like a capable pair. 

Curtis Dennis, the senior transfer from Toledo, hails from the Bronx and played part of his high school career locally at Blessed Sacrament in New Rochelle.  He came in with 12 minutes to go in the half and gave Iona instant offense, getting eight quick points. Iona coach Tim Cluess commented about Dennis's strong game,

Really happy about Curtis Dennis, we expected a lot from him, and he struggled early.  Before the game we talked about trusting your teammates and they trusted him by getting him the ball.  He rewarded them by making shots.

Sean Armand, in his third year with the Gaels, is averaging 21 points per game and is their best three-point shooter.  The native of Brooklyn led Iona in the first half with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.

The Purple Eagles were making shots on Iona mostly inside.  Junior guard Marvin Jordan gave Niagara 10 points in the half on four of six shooting including two threes.  The Gaels led 43-31 at the break.

Tre Bowman, helped Iona get the second half off to fast start with a three-point jumper from the corner to give Iona a 46-34 lead.  Bowman is from York, Pa., and played 16 games as a freshman at Penn State before playing last year at Midland College in Texas.  He was a late roster addition announced in October.  Curtis Denis followed Bowman's play with a three to give him 11 on the night.

Senior Taj Ridley, in his second year with the Gaels, has been alternating with junior Sean Jackson, came in and hit a short jumper to give Iona a 53-38 lead.  Last year, Ridley saw decreasing time but has increased the speed of his play and has earned more time so far on the year. 

After the game, Coach Cluess said he is reluctant to play the big lineup with both Ridley and Jackson in the game because, if both get in foul trouble, he has no big players to go to.  This will change after the end of the first semester when 6'8", 240-pound David Lawry will be eligible to play.  

Jones struggled somewhat missing shots, but Sledge was picking offensive rebounds with one putback that gave Iona a 66-56 lead.  Moments later when Niagara narrowed the lead to 67-62 on a layup by Antoine Mason, Sledge made a smooth move down the lane for two points to put the Gaels up again by seven.

The Gaels scored eight of the next 10,punctuated by another three-point shot from the corner by Curtis Dennis for a 77-64 lead.

With the Gaels playing down the clock, Jones sped in from the perimeter for a layup and a 79-66 lead.  The final score of 83-72 gave Iona its third win of the young season and demonstrated progress in implementing the talents of the players brought together for this season.

Positive signs for Iona were the six players who had nine points or more and the fact that the bench outscored Niagara 26-9.  Iona showed a lot of energy on defense, which appeared to be a hybrid between a zone and man coverage.  Defending against three-point shots forced defenders away from the basket.  Sean Armand commented about the progress Iona has made on defense,

Our defense was fine in the first half, especially holding them to 31 points.  Of course teams get going in the second half and we need to learn to play a full 40 minutes of basketball.

The Gaels are now 3-2 on the season and play at St. Peter's next Wednesday night before a date with Rutgers at Madison Square Garden on December 8.

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY. His Twitter is @SAL50NYRadio Quotes obtained from post game press conference.

The Iona College Gaels (2-1) men's basketball team had an impressive win Saturday 94-68 over Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. 

Iona will play for the fifth-place trophy on Monday playing University of Illinois-Chicago Flames from the Horizon League at 5 p.m. EST.

This type of success for a mid-major team like Iona against a team from a major conference like Wake Forrest from the ACC is why these tournaments are valued. Normally it is very hard for a school like Iona to schedule home and away games against teams who don't want to play in a small gym environment like Iona's 2,500 seat Hynes Center. But in these early season tournaments played at neutral sites, the mid-major teams can get a chance to show what they can do against power conference opponents.

The Gaels lost their Friday night opening round game 98-92 to Quinnipiac University in overtime despite the 40-point effort of senior point guard Lamont "Momo" Jones. At the end of regulation, Jones hit a three-point shot to extend the game. 

After a first half tied at 32, the Gaels fell behind by eight 74-66 to the Bobcats with 1:46 left, but Jones' three-point shot tied the game with four seconds left in regulation. Quinnipiac dominated the overtime, building its lead to 95-85 on a free throw by James Jackson.

Adding to the 40 points scored by "Momo" Jones, Sean Armand had 18 points and Tre Bowman finished with 15. Senior forward Taaj Ridley contributed nine rebounds and seven points in 32 minutes.

In the 94-68 win over Wake on Saturday, the Gaels motored to a 37-5 lead with just 8:48 gone in the first half and later, extended the lead to 37 points at 48-11. In the second half, Iona avoided its tendency to give up big leads never letting its advantage to dip below 25 points.

Junior Sean Armand led Iona with 28 points including seven three-point shots while "Momo" Jones added 21 points, six assists and four rebounds. Junior Tre Bowman, who originally intended to play at Penn State but played junior college basketball, added 15 points for the second straight game.

After three games, Jones is averaging 27 points per game, currently No. 4 in the nation behind Kevin Foster of Santa Clara, who leads with 28.5 points per game.

Tavon Sledge, the guard who transferred from Iowa State, is leading the Gaels in rebounding with seven per game. 

Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.

Iona (1-0) made a statement in last week's 65-58 opening night win over the Denver Pioneers (0-1) that it has reloaded for another NCAA Tournament run built around senior guard Lamont "Momo" Jones and junior swing-man Sean Armand.

After Mike Glover, Scott Machado and much of a talented team graduated in May after playing in the NCAA tournament "First Four" game in March, many long-time Gael followers though it would be rebuilding time in New Rochelle for another NCAA run two or three years in the future. That is the way for mid-majors or the bottom dwellers in the major conferences: stack a lineup with upperclassmen pointing towards a key year to take a run for the top.

Head coach Tim Cluess and his assistant coaches Jared Grasso, Bill O'Keefe and Zak Boisvert went out and recruited nine new players, a mix of transfers, junior college players and two true freshmen.

Among the key additions are swingman 6'5" Tre Bowman, who was originally targeted for Penn State, senior guard Curtis Dennis, who transferred from Toledo, and junior 6'9", 240 pound forward Shawn Jackson, who played for Murray State before attending junior college in Florida. Another big man addition is sophomore David Laury, who is expected to be eligible to play at the completion of the first semester.

Key good news for the Gaels was the news that Iowa State transfer Tavon Sledge, a 25 PPG player at Half Hallow Hills West on Long Island, had been cleared to play this year. Sledge had joined Iona with the thought he would have a shot at point guard after "Momo" Jones graduated. Sledge will a chance to play alongside Jones in the backcourt.

Iona College, looking to improve on last year’s 25-win season and at large bid into the NCAA tournament, survived a second-half surge by Denver University  to win the Nov. 10 season opener at home.

For the Gaels, it was a tale of two halves. The first half started with a bang. Senior guard and team captain Lamont “Momo” Jones put Iona on the board first with a lay-in, then added a three-point shot to give Iona a 5-2 lead with 16:05 left to play of the first half.

And the maroon and gold never looked back from there, lighting up the scoreboard with a 15-2 run, finishing a dominating first half with a 40-17 lead.

Junior guard and team captain Sean Armand led Iona in first half scoring with 13 points. They shot 14-23 as a team, hitting all seven free throws and knocking down 5 of 6 three-pointers.

But Coach Tim Cluess, now in his third season as Iona’s head coach, praised his first-half defense.

“It’s all about our defense,” said Cluess. “In the first half we really had all our rotations down well.”

But then the defense broke down in the second half and gave up open shots, said Cluess. And Denver took full advantage and exploded for 41 points in the final 20 minutes to make the game close.

“In the second half…we seemed to lose guys. They are a great shooting team. In the first half they didn’t make (their shots), but I think that’s because we contested everything,” said Cluess. In the second half “…we gave them that extra step and once we gave them that extra step, they knocked it down.”

Iona’s second-half slide coincided with Armand’s absence from the lineup. Foul trouble reduced him to a vocal spectator on the bench. Cluess acknowledged not having him on the court had a huge effect on the team and exposed a weakness of the Gaels’ offense.

“He’s not only a threat to shoot, but he’s a threat to drive and with Momo handling the ball, there’s no threat of the wing and it’s a lot easier to defend us,” said Cluess.

Despite all the second half struggles, Iona never relinquished the lead. A big reason why was a clutch,
demonstrative three-point shot by Jones that ignited the crowd into a frenzy and swung the momentum back into Iona’s favor. He followed that shot up with a lay-in 18 seconds later to give his team a 64-53 advantage with 3:31 left to play in the game.

“They were plays I had to make to win the game,” Jones said, who finished with 20 points.

Sophomore guard Tavon Sledge set up that dramatic three with a steal and the assist.

Sledge, a transfer student from Iowa State who was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA that allows him to play the 2012-2013 season, will be an exciting player to watch as the season unfolds. He
had an early impact on his new team and impressed his head coach with his energy, quickness, athleticism and play making ability.

“He had seven rebounds. He led us in rebounds at 5’9”. Defensively in the first half, he’s blocking jump shots from guys that are 6’3”, 6’5”,” said Cluess. “When things were getting stagnate, we were talking about flowing the ball, and all of a sudden Sledge gets the ball and breaks everyone down and goes in for a layup…And he’s only going to get better and better.”

Denver’s 6’6” junior forward Chris Udofia was the Preseason All-SBC First Team member as well as the 2011-2012 SBC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SBC First Team, and he did not disappoint.
Udofia finished with 20 points and six rebounds, leading the Pioneers in both categories.

Iona’s next game will be at St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in the eight team Paradise Jam.  The Gaels first round opponent will be Quinnipiac on Friday Nov. 16 at 9 p.m.  The winner will play the winner of Connecticut and Wake Forrest on Sunday evening.  The tournament championship game will be on Tuesday evening.

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A sad note from the Iona community that former Gael assistant coach Kenny Williamson passed away at age 65 from cancer. Williamson coached at Iona under Jim Valvano and Pat Kennedy. Currently he served as the assistant coach/general manager of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies. A Vietnam veteran, coach Williamson was a native of Harlem.

Chris Eberhart gathered quotes and contributed to this article.  Ken Kraetzer covers Iona basketball and West Point football for WVOX 1460 AM in New Rochelle, NY.  Twitter @SAL50NYRadio